Organised by: Dr. Kirsi Lorentz (Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus)
k.o.lorentz@cyi.ac.cy
Location: Room 612 (6th floor) of the Institute of Archaeology, UCL.
Time: Monday 12th to Tuesday 13th April
Please note that only the first named author is given in the timetable below, please click on the name to see full paper details.
| Time | Name | Paper Title |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoon | Monday 12th | |
| 14.30 | Introduction | |
| 14.35 | Le Mort | Challenges in the study of human populations in the ancient Near East |
| 14.55 | Vahdati Nasab | A report on archaeological human remains in Iran |
| 15.15 | Muhesen | Palaeolithic human remains from Syria |
| 15.35 | Discussion | |
| 15.45 | COFFEE | COFFEE |
| 16.15 | Le Mort | Health status of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations of Cyprus: Inferences from Khirokitia |
| 16.35 | Grupe | Human/animal environmental relationships at the Neolithic Transition in the Upper Euphrates basin |
| 16.55 | Buckley | Putting flesh on the bones: A biomolecular approach to the study of human remains |
| 17.15 | Ortner | Metabolic and infectious diseases in the Early Bronze Age I human burials from Bâb edh-Dhrâ, Jordan |
| 17.35 | Discussion | |
| Morning | Tuesday 13th | |
| 09.20 | Introduction | |
| 09.25 | Schutkowski | Levantine coastal food ways in the Middle Bronze Age: Isotope evidence from Sidon |
| 09.45 | Soltysiak | Linear enamel hypoplasia in human populations of Khabour basin |
| 10.05 | Hershkovitz | Life and Death in the Levant Neolithic |
| 10.25 | Discussion | |
| 10.45 | COFFEE | COFFEE |
| 11.15 | Lorentz | Cultural cranial modification in Cyprus and the Near East: Research history, recent advances, and archaeological significance |
| 11.35 | Mitchell | Tapeworms and dysentery: Intestinal parasitic diseases in the historic Levant |
| 11.55 | Duday | Archaeothanatology and funeral archaeology: methods and principles |
| 12.15 | Brief discussion of posters (viewing Mon-Fri, poster session 15th Apr) | |
| 12.35 | General discussion |
Workshop Description:
The workshop aims to highlight the recent advances and research possibilities offered by the study of human skeletal remains retrieved from archaeological contexts in the Near East. The workshop is addressed to the international scientific community of researchers in the fields of human bioarchaeology, palaeopathology, physical anthropology, and related disciplines, as well as archaeologists interested in ancient population dynamics and mortuary behaviour. The workshop focuses on aspects of research on archaeological human remains from the Near East, and their contribution to the understanding of sites, periods and change through time. Preference is given to problem oriented and comparative studies, as well as papers addressing advances, problems and potential on regional and local scales. The chronological scope covers archaeological human remains from the earliest prehistory to medieval/historical periods.
The workshop also consists of posters which are displayed (Cloisters of UCL) throughout the congress, and discussed during a specific workshop session 12:00 on 13th April, as well as during the poster session on 15th April between 14:00-17:55 (Cloisters of UCL).
Workshop Abstracts
Archaeothanatology and funeral archaeology: methods and principles
Dr Henri Duday (UMR CNRS 5199 PACEA-LAPP, Université Bordeaux 1, France)
The study of the corpse taphonomy has become a crucial avenue to reconstruct past population behaviours on the occasion of death. It allows obtaining information on (1) the burial architecture by examination of the micro-environment within which body decomposition occurs, (2) the body position during the inhumation, (3) the relative chronology of the deposition of bodies in burials containing remains of several individuals, and finally on (4) possible anthropogenic post-burial modifications. Thus, the reading of the funerary groups requires a detailed recording of the position of human remains in the burial as well as an in-depth knowledge of body deterioration processes, specifically concerning the dynamics of the articular decomposition (labile and persistent joints). Starting from several archaeological examples, this paper focuses on the interactions between the funerary container (bottom, walls, cover) and the body during the decomposition processes.
h.duday@anthropologie.u-bordeaux1.fr
Human/animal environmental relationships at the Neolithic Transition in the Upper Euphrates basin
Prof. Gisela Grupe and Dr Joris Peters (Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Germany)
The early Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe in the Upper Euphrates Basin is exceptional due to its monumental architecture and art; it most likely served as a cult centre of supra-regional importance. Human and animal bones recovered from the site have been analyzed for their stable carbon, oxygen and strontium isotopic ratios in the bone apatite. Collagen preservation at the site was unfortunately very poor. The stable isotope analyses served for a better understanding of environmental conditions that prevailed in the region at that time, and to trace the catchment areas of PPN humans and animals in that particular area. More precisely, we wanted to evaluate whether the natural expansion of grasslands in the final Pleistocene/early Holocene played a role in man's conscious choice of ruminant species that came under cultural control in later periods. Isotopic ratios were compared to those obtained in the course of previous studies of the bone finds from two later aceramic Neolithic sites which are located in close vicinity of Göbekli Tepe, namely early to middle PPNB Nevalı Çori and late PPNB Gürcütepe II. By stable oxygen isotopic ratios in the bone structural carbonate of animal bone, it was possible to reconstruct the palaeotemperatures and the ecologically defined home ranges of free ranging vertebrates, indicative of the catchment areas exploited by hunting humans. Stable carbon isotopic ratios in the structural carbonate revealed that while the area was still dominated by C3 plants in the early occupation phases, C4 plant (grass) signatures were detectable in the bones of domesticates at Gürcütepe, indicative of conscious feeding practices performed by their owners, thereby avoiding food competition between humans, free ranging wild and domesticated vertebrates. The likelihood of early landscape degradation brought about by this practice is discussed. First results of stable strontium isotope analyses which will serve for the definition of geologically defined home ranges of both humans and animals will also be presented.
G.Grupe@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
joris.peters@palaeo.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de
Life and Death in the Levant Neolithic
Dr Israel Hershkovitz (Tel Aviv University, Israel)
abstract
Challenges in the study of human populations in the ancient Near East
Dr Françoise Le Mort (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5133 Archéorient,
France) and Dr Anne-Marie Tillier (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5199 PACEA, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, France)
The numerous excavations conducted in the Near East have produced large quantities of human skeletal remains. Despite this, pre- and protohistoric Near Eastern populations were, until recently, poorly understood in terms of the mortuary practices, demography, morphology or pathological conditions, with few exceptions, such as Palaeolithic hominids for example. In the last few decades, research in biological anthropology gradually intensified in this area. Recently developed approaches such as archaeothanatology, paleoparasitology or nutritional approaches have led to new and very promising results. Collaborative projects involving biological anthropologists as well as specialists of other fields are currently being developed. Furthermore, there is a general trend in Near Eastern countries toward the development of infrastructure and the training of students and young researchers in the bioarchaeological field. The underdevelopment of studies on Near Eastern human remains thus tends to be reduced, thanks to joint efforts of the Near Eastern countries and international/ interdisciplinary teams working in the region. We do hope that, in a close future, large datasets regarding the populations of the ancient Near East will be available and that bioarchaeology will be an integral part of the study of the history of human populations inhabiting the Near East.
francoise.le-mort@mom.fr
am.tillier@anthropologie.u-bordeaux1.fr
Health status of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations of Cyprus: Inferences from Khirokitia
Dr Françoise Le Mort (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5133 Archéorient, France),
Dr Henri Duday (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5199 PACEA, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, France,
Dr Montserrat Sansilbano-Collilieux (Université de Caen, France)
Among the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Cypriot sites, six have yielded human remains. The largest series has been unearthed at Khirokitia (7th – early 6th millennium cal. BC) during excavations conducted at the site by P. Dikaios (1936-1946) and A. Le Brun (from 1977). On the basis of this skeletal sample (more than 240 individuals), a picture of the health status of the Pre-Pottery populations of Cyprus is drawn. Data from the small samples of skeletal remains uncovered at other Pre-Pottery Neolithic Cypriot sites (Shillourokambos, Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, Kalavasos Tenta, Cap Andreas Kastros) are used for comparison purpose. At Khirokitia, the observed pathological conditions mainly include joint diseases (essentially osteoarthritis) and infectious diseases such as dental and periodontal lesions and parasitoses. A few cases of traumatic conditions such as fractures as well as one case of congenital anomaly (congenitally fused vertebrae), one case of tumors of probably vascular origin and one case of auditory exostoses have also been recognized. Among joint diseases, a case of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, one of the oldest in the world, has to be noticed. Some of the observed pathologies are directly connected to the way of life and the environment, such as auditory exostoses and parasitoses. Current epidemiological surveys tend to explain dental and periodontal lesions as the result of a complex of interactions between several different factors one of them is environment. Finally, the study of stress indicators has pointed out a high prevalence of cribra orbitalia in the subadult sample; this could be related to anemic conditions, possibly linked to environmentally induced circumstances. According to the decrease in prevalence of dental and periodontal diseases over time at Khirokitia, a change in the health status of the population, possibly related to environmental modifications, seems to have occurred during the occupation of the site.
francoise.le-mort@mom.fr
h.duday@anthropologie.u-bordeaeux1.fr
montserrat.collilieux@unicaen.fr
Cultural cranial modification in Cyprus and the Near East: Research history, recent advances, and archaeological significance
Dr Kirsi Lorentz (Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus))
This paper focuses on cultural cranial modification through time in Cyprus and the Near East, in particular within the prehistoric periods. The paper highlights the ways in which cranial modification has and can be approached anthropologically, and draws attention to the significance of studying this phenomenon based on the malleability of the infant cranium within its varied cultural and archaeological contexts. Cultural cranial modification occurs in Cyprus from the Neolithic onwards. Three different types (antero-posterior, postbregmatic and circumferential) can be discerned, of which two (postbregmatic and circumferential) only emerge during the Bronze Age. In the wider region of the Near East, both the circumferential and the antero-posterior types, with their various sub-types, occur already from the Neolithic onwards. So far the postbregmatic type seems to occur only in Cyprus.
Tapeworms and dysentery: Intestinal parasitic diseases in the historic Levant
Dr Piers Mitchell (University of Cambridge, UK)
Intestinal parasites and dysentery have a major detrimental impact upon health in developing world countries today. Depending upon the parasite concerned, they may cause malnutrition, intestinal inflammation, dehydration and septicaemia, and any of these may lead to death. There is no reason to believe that this would not also have been the case in the past. However, in order to assess the impact upon past civilizations in the Near East, it is necessary to determine when each of the major parasites was introduced to the region. With this in mind, project is underway to study historic and prehistoric populations in the Levant to determine which intestinal parasites appear to have always coexisted with mankind and were ubiquitous, and which were introduced to the Middle East at a later date with trade, migration and military campaigns. The techniques used are light microscopy to detect intestinal worm eggs, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect certain forms of dysentery. The successful application of these techniques to medieval latrines and cesspools will be presented, with the discovery of Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Trichuris trichuria (whipworm), Taenia sp. (pork or beef tapeworm), Diphyllobothrium latum (fish tapeworm), Giardia duodenalis (dysentery) and Entamoeba histolytica (dysentery). The implications for health and the spread of disease in the time of the crusades will then be discussed.
Growth of the Neolithic Child
Prof. Theya Molleson (Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, UK)
Variation in size of juveniles recovered from circum Mediterranean sites can be calibrated by reference to dental development in the same children; and then compared to modern growth standards. The effects of weaning can occasionally be noted and seems to be related to major changes in food preparation and diet, rather than to climate or pathology. Age of puberty remains elusive.
Palaeolithic human remains from Syria
Prof. Sultan Muhesen, Dr J.-M. Le Tensorer and Dr T. Akazawa (affiliation, country)
The oldest and most important human bone in Syria came from Nadaouiyeh, in the El-Kowm region, excavated by a Syro-Swiss team. It is a fragment of human skull, a left Parietal bone, found in level D, associated with very rich, extraordinary, Acheulean artefacts and abundant fauna of equids, gazelles and antelopes. The parietal is extremely thick and shows archaic traits allowing to place it closer to Asian Homo erectus than to African Homo ergaster. The Asian affinity raises many questions about human dispersals and colonizations out of Africa. Hummal is another site in the El-Kowm region under excavation by the same Syro-Swiss team. It yielded, from level 5b, a human radial diaphyseal and a medial left upper incisor, associated with Mousterian industry and megafaunal elements, a new species of giant Dromedarius. The radius and the incisor present traits of both Neanderthal and modern human, while Umm el Tlel in the vicinity gave a fragment of Neanderthal's occipital from Middle Palaeolithic level also. Dederiyeh cave, excavated by a Syro-Japanese team, in Afrin valley, yielded many Neanderthals skeletal remains. They included an almost complete skeleton of 2.5 years old child, Dederiyeh 1.The Child was buried in a natural pit, lying on his back with straight hands, flexed legs, plain limestone beside the head and a piece of flint on the chest, a clear indication of intentional burial. Another less complete skeleton, of the same age as Dederiyeh 1 was found in the same cave. This is Dederiyeh 2, which was buried in a pit with several flint wastes and artefacts, and a tortoise shell. In 2007, a third child burial was discovered in the same cultural layers. Dederiyeh's human bones were associated with Tabun B industry. Middle Palaeolithic human discoveries throw light on the Neanderthals of the region and their relations to Modern Humans, as it was found on other Levantine sites.
Metabolic and infectious diseases in the Early Bronze Age I human burials from Bâb edh-Dhrâ, Jordan
Prof. Don Ortner (Smithsonian Institution, USA)
The publication in 2008 of the final report on the Early Bronze Age I tombs and burials from the site of Bâb edh-Dhrâ in Jordan (Ortner and Frohlich 2008) provides a glimpse into both the culture and the biology of the people living at the site more than 5000 years ago. There are two subphases in the EB I tombs and burials: EB IA (ca. 3300-3200 BCE) and EB IB (ca. 3200-3100 BCE). Evidence for infectious diseases in EB IA phase (N = 578) includes cases of probable tuberculosis, periostitis and possible brucellosis (Ortner et al. 2008:265). However, the prevalence of skeletal evidence for these diseases is very low. Evidence for metabolic disease includes several cases of both early onset (12 cases) and later onset of osteopenia (2 cases) in female skeletons and 2 male cases of osteopenia.
Levantine coastal food ways in the Middle Bronze Age: Isotope evidence from Sidon
Dr Holger Schutkowski (University of Bradford), Mike Richards, Alan R. Ogden, Dr Claude Doumet Serhal (affiliation, country)
The analysis of light stable isotope ratios has become an indispensable tool for the reconstruction of past food ways from populations of the circum-Mediterranean. This study reports on findings from the College site at Sidon, one of the most prominent cities of Phoenician times, which was part of a supra-regional trade network. The site has recently been identified as a major ritual centre, which adds to the importance of the human burials unearthed. Human skeletal remains dating to the Middle Bronze Age and associated terrestrial and marine fauna were analysed for carbon and nitrogen isotope values (δ13C and δ15N) obtained from bone collagen. The data indicate that for the majority of the humans the protein component of the diet was largely derived from C3 sources, i.e. plants and herbivores feeding on C3 vegetation. A number of individuals had δ13C values consistent with the input of a small proportion of marine or C4-derived protein. These individuals also had higher δ 15N values than the others, suggesting that the less negative δ13C values were derived from marine, rather than C4, dietary protein sources. However, a comparison with the isotope values of a range of contemporary faunal species, including fish, indicates that the δ15N values are more elevated than would be predicted based on the amount of marine protein indicated by the δ13C values. The large spread in δ15N values for the humans is consistent with the observation that weaning and the introduction of solid foods did not occur in children younger than 18 to 24 months of age. There is no indication of dietary change over the time period under study. Within the population, the diet of males appears to be much more varied, whereas female diets are distinctly more homogenous. The findings will be discussed in relation to the coastal setting of the site and social differentiation as inferred from the archaeology of the burial ground.
Linear enamel hypoplasia in human populations of Khabour basin
Dr Arkadiusz Soltysiak (University of Warsaw, Poland)
Linear enamel hypoplasia is considered as reliable indicator of nutritional stress in past human populations. This marker has been scored in a sample of more than 500 individuals from six sites in the Khabour basin, north-eastern Syria: Tell Arbid, Tell Barri, Tell Brak, Chagar Bazar, Tell Majnuna, and Tell Rad Shaqra. Differences between six roughly defined chronological sub-samples (Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Middle and Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, Achaemenian- Hellenistic-Roman, Islamic) may be interpreted as a proxy indicator of temporal changes in subsistence efficiency in the dry farming region of North Mesopotamia.
A report on archaeological human remains in Iran
Dr Hamed Vahdati Nasab and Miss Fatemeh Nouri (Department of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran)
Based on more than six decades of archaeological investigations, it has been proven that the Iranian plateau has been a dwelling place for humans since the Late Pleistocene. Although our knowledge concerning human remains belonging to pre-Neolithic period in Iran is so limited, so far countless amount of human remains have been discovered during excavations of sites that chronologically encompass from the Chalcolithic to the Historical time span. Tepe Hissar, Gohar Tepe, Tepe Sialk, Tepe Zagheh, Shahre Sookhteh and many other important sites are among those archaeological locations that have provided significant numbers of human burials. In spite of the fact that almost all major archaeological sites in Iran have revealed human skeletons, they have never received proper attention by the archaeologists. In this report our main focus is to explore reasons behind this lack of enthusiasm by the body of Iranian archaeologists. Our survey indicates that there might be several reasons for the current situation of human remains in Iran. Lack of sufficient number of trained Physical anthropologists, historical division between archaeology and anthropology in Iran, absence of knowledge regarding the significance of human skeleton data in archaeology, and lack of administrative long term planning our among those reasons.